Fate stay Night: Requiem
by Kapskaen
Summary: It is a punishment worse than death, to have all measure of freedom taken away. To be summoned for this War, to fight for his freedom? The chance is too good to pass up. Only this war is different - corrupted. The Great Grail has plans, and Servant Shinigami is its instrument. Welcome to the War. Shirou/Saber, Rin/OC


"Soutaicho, surely there must be another way! Regardless of your feelings about him, the man is a superb Shinigami! You said yourself – One Shinigami, regardless of power, staving off an apocalypse is preposterous!"

A grizzled old man, ancient beyond description, surveyed the young woman in front of him carefully, deliberating on his next words.

"It is out of my hands, Mia. His direct inaction caused the death of Estel Blackheart and the release of the apocalypse caged within him. It will be hundreds of years before the humans will recover from their shattered lives, maybe longer. The Central 46 has ruled this, a command passed from the King himself."

A unnatural quiet settled over the small room, and the two Shinigami turned to face the man bound and chained in the cell before them. Despite his confinement and being gagged, one crimson eye gleamed out at the them, the anger, hurt, and betrayal clear in the orb.

"I will now take my leave. Spend this time wisely, Mia. Tomorrow, the ritual begins."

"Then tomorrow, I take my leave of this wretched society."

But the old man was gone, disappearing with a sound like a curtain fluttering in a breeze.

Mia sighed, running a hand through her golden hair, and turning to face the man in the cage.

"...God damn you, Cale. I told you the risks were not worth the payout, yet you and Estel both know better than anyone. The Old Magics are not ones to be tampered with! You _**knew**_!"

She was hysterical now, her voice taking on a high pitch.

"What am I supposed to do now?! I've lost Nizi, I've lost Estel, Olie... I've lost you. I'm alone again."

She took several deep breaths, attempting but failing to compose herself, and began walking to the prison's exit, not meeting the man's eyes.

"...Perhaps this is for the best. It has to be for the best..."

One last glance back, her sea-green eyes meeting his cold crimson.

"...God damn you, Cale."

The door was slammed shut, and blackness flooded the room.

OooOoOo

Fate/stay Night: Requiem

Chapter One

Emiya Shirou had never been normal. Not since as far as he could remember, after Kiritsugu saved him and subsequently adopted him. Not since he badgered his father relentlessly to teach him the ways of magecraft. It served its purpose.

Emiya Shirou wanted to be a hero. Magecraft, in all of its volatility and agonizing practice, was the means to reach that end. So he trained, and he tried to improve, long after Kiritsugu passed away.

Now, as he lay sprawled on the ground in his shed, bruised, battered, and bleeding from a few shallow wounds on his arms and face, he called upon the buzzing energy he could constantly feel buzzing just beneath his skin.

Why, he does not know; there is nothing around to reinforce, nothing to give him a chance to fight the lance-wielding monster that will be upon him in a matter of seconds. The monster that had succeeded in killing him once already.

It was frustrating. By sheer dumb, horrible luck, he had stumbled across a scene not meant for his eyes, and it was the cause of his death. He glared at the entrance to his shed, where even now, the lancer was stalking across the courtyard, a damnable smirk plastered on his face. He knew the end of this conflict. Once he was bored with this plaything, he would simply crush it like a toy, and throw it away.

Shirou clenched his fist, slamming it against the ground, when suddenly there came a fluttering of cloth and a chill that went deeper than the cool winter night outside.

"You who have tasted death, I have responded to your summons."

Raising his head in disbelief, he met the crimson eyes of a man dressed in all black, save for the ragged white scarf around his neck, his snow white hair swaying softly in the draft created by the open door.

"The contract is this; I shall be your strength, the blade you wield to destroy your enemies. I will be Death's cold, frozen grasp. I am Servant Shinigami, and I recognize you as my Master."

The cold eyes then left him, and turned toward the lanceman, who was regarding the scene with a calculating gaze.

"You are the one who gave my Master the taste of death."

The blue lancer sniffed once, replying, "Yeah, I stabbed 'im. Far as I can tell, though, he ain't dead. And he's a Master to boot? Weird kid. This wasn't part of the deal."

The 'Shinigami' reached behind his right shoulder, drawing a long katana, and holding it in a loose grip by his right thigh.

"It is customary to let your opponents know just who it is that will be killing them, but somehow I get the feeling that you aren't much for customs... Servant Lancer."

Sniffing again, the man in blue shrugged once, his tone somewhat irritated. "Maybe I am, maybe I ain't, right now my Master doesn't care for any o' that. Now that the seventh has been identified, all I gotta do is finish ya before you can even start."

A cold smirk settled on Shinigami's mouth as a biting pressure settled down around them, constricting their lungs and slowing their movements.

"Finish me? I would love to see you try."

For a long while, the two otherworldly creations stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move, when suddenly, they were gone.

As fast as they disappeared, however, they reappeared in a titanic clash as spear met sword, their duel a dance of flashing silver and red.

It seemed that neither had the upper hand, as the Lancer began to get more frantic and frustrated in his parries and counters, while the white-haired swordsman pressed him solidly with lightning-fast slashes and counters.

The scuffle only lasted for a few seconds, before Lancer leapt away from his opponent, obviously shaken by the swordsman's talent.

"Tch. Just what are you, anyway? I've never heard of a Servant Shinigami; there should be no death gods in this war!"

Shinigami regarded him with the same blank expression. "There has never been a Master that drank so deeply from the chalice of Death, either. Who better to summon a God of Death than one who has died?"

The Lancer scowled, and readied his lance. At once, a sickening, evil aura fell across the courtyard, and Shirou felt himself torn between gagging in revulsion and fleeing as fast as physically possible in an attempt to escape that spear.

His expression unchanging, Shinigami readied his weapon. "How I must frighten you, Lancer, to risk using your Noble Phantasm so early in this war. Tell me: do you understand?"

There was no response, the blue-clad man deciding instead to leap high into the air, his spear held high above his head.

"_**Gáe..."**_

The spear is launched, a sickening red aura surrounding it as it flies faster than humanly possible from its wielder's outstretched hand.

_"****__...__Bolg____!"_

Shinigami's eyes widen in what looks like shock as the missile flies straight toward him at unimaginable speeds. From his vantage point, Shirou can even feel the malevolence oozing from the weapon.

As it reaches the swordsman, however, there is a flash and a peal of ringing metal, and once the light clears, Shinigami is casually holding the spear in his left hand, the left part of his shirt torn open and a small puncture wound oozing a drop of blood down his chest.

"A valiant attempt, Servant Lancer. Valiant indeed, I was caught quite unaware by your attack. I applaud you."

With a casual dismissive movement, he tossed the spear aside like trash, where the point stuck into the dirt almost three feet away.

"It's a shame for you that I know of Gáe Bolg, and I know of you, the Hound of Ulster. The great Cú Chulainn and his cursed spear."

Lancer's jaw is wide open in shock, and his eyes betray his fear.

"You... what are you? You can't be a normal Servant!"

"I am what the Grail makes me. Just as you are. Now prepare yourself, Cú Chulainn. It is time for your part in this war to end."

He brandishes his sword out to the side, and the chilling pressure that has been present through the entire conflict suddenly doubles as Shinigami opens his mouth.

**_"Ten wo Toj-_"**

His pronouncement is cut off, however, by another blue blue racing toward him, and he pivots slightly to the left, bringing his sword up in a defensive position. With a ear-piercing clang and a crash, he catches something on his blade, and his attacker's form is made clear.

To Shirou's eyes, it as if a goddess has come down from the heavens to attack the man who just saved his life. Short of stature, with her blonde hair and sea-green eyes, she leans against an invisible sword, obviously straining against Shinigami, but her face was completely tranquil, her determination flashing in her eyes.

Lancer capitalizes immediately, using Shinigami's distraction as an opening to dash in and reobtain his spear.

"Ah, Saber, I was wondering when you would show up."

Shinigami scowls, and in a completely unexpected move, punches the blonde woman across the face, sending her skidding away. The three warriors now face each other in a triangle, each pointing a weapon at the other.

The woman, now identified as Saber, speaks up. "My Master forces me to rush here in a worthless attempt to save some boy's life, yet I arrive to see two Servants doing battle. Our battle had yet to reach its conclusion, Lancer, and I will not have another man finish you off when I am quite capable of doing so myself."

Shinigami scoffs, "Sure because he's obviously quite dead. If you were capable, this conversation would not be happening."

The small woman's glare turns to him, but any biting remark she could have come up with is melted away by the curiosity in her gaze.

"I do not recognize you. Tell me; what is your class?"

A white eyebrow arches into Shinigami's hairline. "My class is the less-known 'Fuck You.' I'm a unique Servant."

His words apparently anger her, and she faces him completely now. "It is common courtesy to give your name to an opponent, so that they might know who it is they are killing."

An echo of Shinigami's previous words. He smirks, shrugging slightly. "Is it now? Then I'll say this now: I have no name. It was abandoned by those in my life, so I abandoned it myself. I am Servant Shinigami now."

Before any further conversation could take place, however, a new voice joined in.

"Oh my, look at all the insects gathered into one spot."

The three whirled to face the newcomer, and were shocked by the sight. A small, silver-haired girl was perched on the shoulder of a mass of muscle so large, it was undoubtedly a giant. The smile that adorned her face was cold and full of malice.

"How lucky for me. Now I can destroy three of you without even having to hunt you down. I even found a Master wandering around."

Dangling from the giant's hand was a small girl, obviously unconscious, with long black hair, dressed in a red shirt and black skirt.

Shirou and Saber started at the same time.

"Shit... That's... Tohsaka!"

"Master!"

The little girl laughed, the childlike sound being disturbingly out of place in the tenseness of the situation.

"Rin was quite rude to me, and even went so far as to insult my Berserker. So I had to teach her a lesson. Now Berserker, give her back to her Servant so we can kill them all at once."

Wordlessly, the giant reared his arm back and launched the small girl toward Saber at an obviously fatal speed.

Saber wouldn't be able to react in time.

There was a fluttering sound once again, and a black mass appeared in front of the girl, cradling her to itself and skidding along the ground. It planted a blade into the soil as it slid, eventually coming to a stop.

Servant Shinigami glared at the duo even as he set the small girl down gently into the grass, careful not to disturb any wounds she might have.

"Saber. I would suggest that you take your Master and run. It is about to become unsafe here, and she is in no state to withstand a conflict."

The blonde girl's eyes shot open at the suggestion. "There is no way that you think you can take on Berserker and Lancer at the same-"

"The Lancer is already gone."

A quick glance around the area showed that, indeed, Lancer had fled without a trace. All that were left in the courtyard were Shinigami, Saber, and Berserker, and their respective Masters.

The little girl perched on Berserker's shoulder giggled once again.

"How adorable, thinking that a small little thing like yourself could match Berserker. Show him your strength, Berkserker."

The giant roared and then lunged with a speed that was surprising given his size.

_"Bakudo no Rokujuu-san: Rikujokoro."_

At Shinigami's uttering, six bars of light slammed into Berserker, halting its movements as it roared in confusion and began battering the petals.

Calmly, Shinigami walked toward the thrashing beast, until he was less than twelve paces away. He aimed one hand at the giant's chest and intoned one simple phrase.

_"Hado no Hachijuu-hachi: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho."_

From his palm leapt an enormous blue blast of lightning, and the impact and sound of the attack could be heard from miles around. In the midst of the dust and chaos, the beast could be heard roaring, and its Master shouting. What was said was anyone's guess, but once the dust began to clear, the two were nowhere to be seen.

Shinigami stood in the spot he had unleashed his attack from, though he was slightly worse for wear. He was panting hard, and sweat beaded his brow and face, though he had taken part in no over-strenuous activity during the fight, aside from his brief scuffle with Lancer.

"Saber. I am in no mood to fight you, and your Master is injured. What say you to treating our injured inside? I'm sure my Master will have no issue."

Shirou, his body finally unfrozen from his spot in the doorway in the shed, suddenly remembered the girl that Berserker launched towards them.

"Shit! Tohsaka!" He rushed to her side and began checking for wounds, but was roughly shoved aside by Saber, who began her own screening. After a few moments, she sighed and said, "She is simply unconscious. I could find no broken bones or signs of internal bleeding, though she may have a concussion."

Nodding, Shirou gestured toward his home. "Then let's take her inside and out of the cold. I have plenty of questions for her once she wakes up."

Saber gave Shinigami a long look, then stood up with the small girl in her arms.

"As do we all."

oOoOoOo

And I'm back again with a rewrite of Fate/Death Night! Hopefully this one will come across as more well-written and thought out than the first, but who knows?

I'm leaving in literally an hour for Marine Combat Training for the next month, so this could technically be called a teaser chapter, but I'll most definitely try my hardest to plot out future chapters if I can.

You know the drill, reviews are always appreciated!

Until next time,

~Kapskaen


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